Mailing Address
Conservation Advisory Board
Eden Town Hall
2795 East Church Street
Eden, New York 14057


Board Chairperson

Lamont Beers

Conservation Advisory Board

The Eden Conservation Advisory Board (CAB) is a volunteer group of nine (9) residents of the Town of Eden who have been appointed to 2-year terms by the Eden Town Board. The CAB is structured in accordance with General Municipal Law Article 12-F, Section 239-x to advise the Town in the development, management and protection of its natural resources.

The Eden CAB meets on the 4th Tuesday of the month except in July, August and December at 7:30 pm in the 2nd floor conference room of the Eden Town Hall 2795 East Church Street, Eden, New York 14057. Meetings are announced in the Eden Pennysaver and the public is encouraged to attend and participate. The Eden CAB also meets on an as-needed basis.The Eden CAB is a member of the New York State Association of Conservation Commissions and has received an award from NYSACC at their annual conference for completing a Natural Resource Inventory and Open Space Index. The Eden CAB also received an award from NYSACC for formulating a Conservation Easement Law; these documents are land use planning tools, which can be helpful in planning for development and the protection of important natural resources such as prime farmland, wetlands, wooded and steep sloped areas.In 2004 the Eden CAB, working with personnel from the Erie County Soil and Water Conservation District, prioritized open areas according to their environmental sensitivity to development. This information can also be used to select open areas, which may be suitable for conservation easements.

  • Lamont Beers (Chairman)
  • Russell Barten
  • Mary Jane Bolo
  • Deborah Condon
  • Allan Silver
  • Judith Striebich
  • Cristina Nelipowitz
  • Michael Byrnes – Town Board Liason
The Natural Resource Inventory (NRI) involves collecting information on and mapping of locally relevant physical resources such as: geology, geography, soils, surface and groundwater, land use and atmospheric conditions. The NRI has two basic purposes: (1) to serve as a local planning and project review tool and (2) to provide information for the Open Space Index. The NRI enables a conservation commission to act as an affective guardian over the local environment and to suggest alternative land uses.

Download the Natural Resource Inventory (NRI)

Download the Open Space Index

 

Download the Town of Eden Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan

The Town of Eden’s Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan was funded with a grant from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets in 2008. Eden has been proactive in supporting its agricultural industry and developed a similar report on the state of agriculture in 1998. Many changes have occurred in the past decade and it has been valuable to reassess current conditions and reevaluate appropriate tools to protect farmland and strengthen the future for agriculture.An Agricultural Planning Committee, comprised of representatives from the Agricultural Advisory Committee, Conservation Advisory Board, Planning Board, and Town Board, guided the plan development process. This process included over 11 meetings of the Agricultural Planning Committee, two public meetings and fourteen interviews of farmers, farm landowners, and agribusiness owners.The planning process identified three goals:

  • Stabilize the town’s agricultural land base and maintain 95% of the current active agricultural land in production through the next ten years. Support Eden farmers as stewards of the land and other natural resources in the Town.
  • Maintain a supportive business environment for farm operations.
  • Educate the non-farm public about agriculture and facilitate an ongoing dialogue between the farm community and other Eden residents.

Recommended actions to meet these goals and a matrix prioritizing the implementation of the actions are included in the Plan. Additional resources for Town leaders to access as needed are part of the Appendix.A plan is only as good as the executed results. Town leaders, local officials, farmers, and citizens need to refer to the plan often to guide decisions and actions that may affect farmland and Eden’s farm businesses.The above is the Executive Summary taken from the Town of Eden’s Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan.